Peter Wright has leapfrogged his compatriot Gary Anderson to become the Scottish number one, whilst World Grand Prix champion Daryl Gurney is up to a career high of fourth on the PDC Order of Merit following last weekend’s European Championship in Hasselt.

Wright moved up to a career high of world number two earlier this month, but that lasted for just eight days as ‘The Flying Scotsman’ reclaimed the position he has occupied for over three years following Wright’s quarter-final exit at the European Darts Trophy.

Nevertheless, with Anderson absent from the European Championship after failing to compete in any of the twelve European Tour events this year, ‘Snakebite’ moved £29,000 clear of the two-time world champion following his run to the last eight in Hasselt, where he was beaten 10-5 by World Grand Prix champion Daryl Gurney.

The Northern Irishman is also a significant mover on the Order of Merit. ‘Super-Chin’ began the weekend ranked sixth in the world, but wins over Steve Beaton, Stephen Bunting and Wright saw Gurney reach the semi-finals and climb to a career high of fourth in the world; above the decorated Stoke duo of Adrian Lewis and Phil Taylor.

Lewis and Taylor are now ranked 5th and 6th respectively, just ahead of Champions League of Darts winner Mensur Suljovic. ‘The Gentle’ had the opportunity to leapfrog the 16-time world champion with a run to the final, but his hopes were thwarted by nine-dart hero Kyle Anderson, who triumphed 10-7 in a hard-fought quarter-final.

At the top of the tree, Michael van Gerwen stretched his lead after securing his record-equalling fourth consecutive European Championship title last night. ‘The Green Machine’ leads his closest challenger Wright by almost £1m, and will be hopeful of extending that buffer in the tournaments to come.

Four-time major finalist Dave Chisnall remains in eighth position, above five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld- who was also absent in Hasselt. Elsewhere, former World-Youth champion Michael Smith is back in the world’s top ten having reached the quarter-finals in Belgium over the weekend.

Simon Whitlock continued his resurgence to reach the European Championship last eight- only losing out to eventual winner Michael van Gerwen. This sees Whitlock up to his highest ranking position for over three years, whilst James Wade- who failed to qualify for the European Championship, slips to world number twelve.

One of the biggest movers on the Order of Merit is Rob Cross. ‘Voltage’ continued his spectacular debut year on the PDC circuit by reaching his first major televised final in Hasselt- beating Martin Schindler, Dave Chisnall, Michael Smith and Daryl Gurney en route.

He performed magnificently against Van Gerwen in a thrilling final; averaging 102.39 and landing six maximums, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the imperious Dutchman, who prevailed 11-7 with a 108.91 average. However, Cross’ heroics see him climb to 23rd in the world, having already clinched a total of £172,250 in an extraordinary debut season.

Kyle Anderson is up three places to 22nd following his run to the last four in Hasselt. ‘The Original’ defeated John Henderson, Jelle Klaasen and Mensur Suljovic and landed a nine-darter against Michael van Gerwen, but he was denied a place in his first major ranking final after missing two match darts in a gripping deciding-leg.

Belgian star Kim Huybrechts has slipped outside the world’s top 16 following his first-round exit on home soil against Mensur Suljovic, whilst two-time major PDC winner Robert Thornton- another high profile star who failed to qualify for the European Championship, is now down to 26th- his lowest position since 2012.